The talks in the arena didn't subside though.
"It's been a while since I saw such a quick result, not to mention that Ashenveil guy seems immune to killing; it's very hard to find in newbies."
"True, I also remember only a few battles, and most were because one of the participants was a lineage heir."
"I doubt he is though; there is no need to hide his face if that was the case."
"Whatever it is, I am more interested in knowing his affinity though."
"Go ask the Wisdom Slate, see if it will tell you..."
...
Vaelen appeared in the city square, the original location he was at before being teleported to the arena.
He opened his profile; as expected, there were two new options available: Battle stats (W/L) - (1/0) and ranking (Rank 1) - unranked.
He was still unranked; only the top 1000 get a ranking, others are all unranked.
He immediately started his queue again.
He was far from done yet.
[Battle found - 9 sec left]
Well, it looks like congratulations were only for the first time.
Ten seconds later, he disappeared again; this time, the arena seemed to be in the center of a desert.
Vaelen didn't know that he already had followers.
The people in the arena can easily follow someone as fans. And if the person they followed has matched with another battle, they can join the respective arena too.
Vaelen knew about this function, but he doubted that anyone would want to follow him, because not showing affinity is considered a weakness, and people don't like it.
As for his attack, he thought they all would think of it as a surprise attack and wouldn't pay much attention.
Vaelen had just settled on the platform when some new chairs started popping out; it meant new people had come to watch.
From his vantage point, he could easily see that new spectators had arrived; the identity of spectators is hidden from the participants.
But it didn't matter; the arrival of so many new spectators at the start of a new battle is always tied to the popularity of one or both participants.
The people who were initially sitting in this arena got stunned; they couldn't help but look at the display information of the participants to see if someone famous was taking part.
[Galactic (Rank 1) (1/0), Element Ice, Affinity - 66%] vs [Ashenveil (Rank 1) (1/0), Element Darkness, Affinity - Hidden]...
After looking at it, they found it ordinary, so they really couldn't figure out why new people would suddenly come.
Finally, someone couldn't contain it and asked loudly to the new spectators; their voices can't be heard by the participants unless it's an open tournament where everything is partial.
"Hey, you guys, is there something we should know?"
"Well, not really, we are just impressed by Ashenveil's fighting technique."
"Ohh... that sounds interesting. Is he really from the Tenebran Lineage?"
"Don't know, but the technique does match their unpredictability; can't say for sure if it is their new technique or not. Let's watch now... it's about to start."
...
When Vaelen looked at the new seats appearing, he knew he had messed up; these people were too free to get excited by only one simple move.
He didn't doubt for a second that they hadn't posted his videos elsewhere.
Oh well, he would have to take some other major steps to remain undisturbed, and he knew what to do.
[00:00]
Galactic was wielding a sword; Vaelen himself could have done that, but for the time being, there was no need.
Vaelen's approach was similar; he dashed toward Galactic immediately, and Galactic was surprised too. It definitely works against someone who hasn't seen him dash with full speed yet.
The reaction of Galactic wasn't much different from Vaelen's first opponent. Galactic just stabbed his sword toward Vaelen instead of using a fist. Instead of using the previous sidestep to dodge the attack, Vaelen used his palm to catch the tip of the sword.
Galactic's eyes widened, thinking that Vaelen had gone mad, but he suddenly saw that although the sword touched Vaelen's palm, it didn't even leave a cut, much less stab.
And before he could even perceive what was happening, he saw the palm wrap around the sword tip like a towel, and immediately he felt an intense vibration that made him lose his own grip on the sword hilt... and this was enough for Vaelen to snatch it completely.
And since Vaelen was already too close to Galactic, he spun the sword in the air 180 degrees and pushed it into Galactic's heart.
"Angghhhh..."
Vaelen moved one step back and waited for Galactic to die.
Since he might already have been noticed by his brother, why bother hiding it anymore... His identity was secret; no one outside the Tenebran family knew about it.
He was only avoiding his brother because if he got associated with him, then the tag of the second prince from the Tenebran family would definitely be pasted on him.
...
"What the hell, now that technique also looked new."
"Yeah... it definitely is some distinct style that we don't know yet."
"Send this video to the experts too and see if Ashenveil gets into another match."
Some of those watching the fight were experts too, as they were here mainly to scout for new talents. They had seen all the main lineage styles, so they immediately were able to tell that it didn't belong to any one of them.
They could only confirm this style from veterans who were far more experienced than them.
...
What Vaelen feared had taken place in just one day... Zareth was watching forums related to the Darkness element closely, and how could he miss the new hype? Darkness users aren't many, so it was easy to find videos related to his brother.
"My my, so my brother has not chosen the name I suggested to him, good good...
My little brother, you should remember that the advice of elders is very important for your life.
Now how should I deal with this?
Mother has forbidden me to reveal his identity under any circumstances... well, she always spoiled him, so it wasn't surprising, but can I find any loopholes... think... think..."
"What are you thinking..."
Zareth flinched and immediately closed his communication devices; he also felt a chill on his back.
"M-Mother, there was some issue about my upcoming trial, so I was thinking how to resolve that."
He turned around to see Eiselle looking at him with a deadpan expression.
"Is that so? Go ahead, ask me... I have cleared it, so I can definitely answer your questions."
"Ah... don't worry, Mother, it's just a normal issue... It will be resolved easily."
"Hm, I see... very well. Oh, I just came to remind you of something; remember... 'in any circumstances' means literally in any circumstances. I hope you understand that?"
"Yes, Mom," Zareth spoke with an almost crying voice.
"Was it hard to understand?"
"No, Mom."
"There you go... I think I have solved your problem, right?"
Zareth felt sweat in his underpants.
But he still nodded.
"Yes, Mom."
"You should always listen to your elders; it will be helpful in your life."
Zareth's eyes twitched at that sentence.
"By the way, meet me in the underground training area... I think you have lost your edge after becoming a little famous. Don't be late."
Eiselle disappeared.
Zareth took a deep breath.
"Phewww... that was scary. Sometimes Mom can become scarier than terrifying beasts.
Looks like I have to give up on the quest of making my brother famous..."
...
After Galactic died, Vaelen teleported back to the city square again. He looked at his status, and he was still unranked. He decided to change locations for the time being.
The city square is the busiest place and is monitored by everyone, so changing the location now that he was being watched was most important.
Although it wouldn't matter, as he could ignore anyone... it was still better to not get noticed.
There is a teleport function in the status that allows users to teleport at least three times a day, so he chose to teleport to some location that had very little traffic.
If he wanted, he could move through the city the normal way too, but he decided to teleport; he didn't have a single penny to use the transport option.
Although this city is almost the same as the Lost Sanctuary, it is only in terms of map and road structure.
The buildings were totally different, as it was easier here to build your home and offices according to your imagination... not to mention having any property in the real world didn't mean that you had the same property here; you had to buy it again.
The organization that looks after all businesses in the parallel world is a government organization, but that doesn't mean that Hidden Lineages didn't have a stake in it. It was the Lineage families who found that slate in a mission, so basically, it belongs to them; they just let the government handle it.
Well, in a nutshell, this city is far more vibrant and futuristic in terms of development.
It contains many scenic view places that are not available in the real world.
Overall, the parallel world is a good place to relax and enjoy, other than battles, but for him... well, if not for the battles, he wouldn't have even come here.
No matter how real the parallel world looks... it is but a fake dream. There is a reason why humans were away from the evolution line for so long; it is because they were immersed in this type of fake realities that just fulfilled their wishes.